1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer which records an image on a recording paper in accordance with inputted image data, further, the present invention relates to a peripheral apparatus of a computer equipped with a plurality of functions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays an electronic still camera (digital camera) is tend to be speedily popularized in cooperation with development of the Internet. Image data taken by the digital camera is written in a memory card of smart media (registered trademark) and so forth. When a photographed image is printed, the digital camera is connected to a printer. In another way, the memory card detached from the digital camera is set to a printer provided with a card reader. Then, the image read from the memory card is printed. Such a printing operation includes an instruction of reading the images, a selection of the image to be printed, and an instruction of executing a printing process.
Meanwhile, when the photographed image is stored as a data file, the image read from the memory card is written in a storage medium of a flexible disk, a hard disk, and so forth by means of a data storage device. This data storage device is, for example, a flexible disk drive (FDD) and a hard disk drive (HDD) incorporated in a personal computer or the like. A data storing operation includes an instruction of reading the images, a selection of the image to be stored, and an instruction of executing a storage process.
By using the above-mentioned data storage device, it is possible to keep the image as the data file in addition to a print thereof. If the images are kept as the data file, the images may be easily managed so as to be arranged in an order of a taking date, and so as to be classified every photographing place and every event. Such management is very convenient. By the way, it is troublesome to marshal and keep the images with a personal computer. In order to simplify the management of the images, the present assignee has released an exclusive data filing apparatus in which a card reader and a data storage device are incorporated.
When the personal computer with a printer is connected to the digital camera to perform both operations of data storage and printing, it is necessary in each operation to give instructions of reading the image, selecting the image, and processing the image. Due to this, the operation becomes complicated.
Moreover, when the data filing apparatus is used together with the printer including the card reader, it is necessary to move the memory card because the printer and the data filing apparatus are individual. Due to this, the operation becomes further complicated.
Further, preparing the data filing apparatus besides the printer gives an economic load to a user. In addition, as a number of the apparatus increases, it is necessary to obtain a new space for placement. Thus, there arises a problem in that simplicity is taken away.